Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

And the apostle Paul wrote:

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8)

The above verses tells us there is a prerequisite to covenant making. We see that God first loved the world, that is the people on earth, then He gave His Son to come to earth and die a covenant-making death so that all who die with Him (spiritually) would be joined with Him in covenant. Paul comments that the fact that He died for us while we were still sinners is evidence of the greatness of God’s love for mankind.

It is inconceivable to me that anyone would enter into a relationship as binding and enduring as a blood covenant with someone they did not greatly love, admire and respect. The idea that love comes before covenant making is confirmed in the Old Covenant.

Now it came about when he [David] had finished speaking to Saul [the king], that the soul of Jonathan [Saul’s son] was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. (1 Samuel 18-1)

Saying that he ‘loved him as himself’ is an indication of a  covenant kind of love.

 This is a love that puts your partner ahead of your concerns and needs at all times. It is this love that drove Jonathan to bring David into this most sacred of relationships.

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. (1 Samuel 18-3)

As you study the articles in this section you will see one of the best pictures of the covenant making process to be found in the Bible, that the covenant between Jonathan and David.

If love is necessary before a covenant is made, how great must this love be? Covenant love is the greatest love of all. It is, in fact, a God kind of love. It is a love that infiltrates and saturates your being. It is not a love that ever seeks self-fulfillment. It is totally selfless.

God’s love for mankind is still greater than ours because His love is not a choice. It is not something He chooses to do or not to do. He is love. Does He become angry when we do not love Him in return? Does He punish those who disobey His commandments? Yes, He does. But even His anger and punishment are products of His love.

God’s desire for the people of the world is for them to join Him, as many as would choose to, in His eternal relationship of covenant love.

The question we must all answer is this: Can we love God above all else? In other words, are we willing to sacrifice our old nature of selfishness to become a new person with a love nature? That is the choice every human being must make.

May God’s love be poured into your heart,

Peter Giardina